Thesis UC3M: Generative AI

 USE OF GENERATIVE AI TOOLS

• The use of these tools will be subject to compliance with the guidelines and regulations of best practice of the UC3M Doctoral School. Reflect with your thesis supervisor on how you will manage the Generative AI during your thesis, respecting all the principles outlined in this guide and in the provided declaration template. A rich and open discussion allows for the integration of the Gen AI as another tool in the learning environment and knowledge progression required for a thesis or dissertation.
• Work honestly and responsibly, declaring the use you have made of Generative AI in your dissertation. To do so, you must read this Declaration of use of Generative AI at the beginning of the process of writing the thesis, and, at the end of the process you must fill in the template ‘Declaration of Use of Generative AI’ and include this document in your thesis as an Annex.
• These tools have limits and may provide false, incorrect or inaccurate content. Be sure to verify this information as you will be responsible for the content when including it in your project.
• If you are going to process personal data for the completion of your doctoral thesis, you must follow the instructions contained in the "Basic Guidelines" approved by the University for these matters.
• Please be aware that their use may violate intellectual property rights and copyright. Consult the general regulations (Ley de Propiedad Intelectual) and the specific regulations of the Doctoral School to ensure you comply with copyright. Also, learn about the meaning and application of Creative Commons licenses. The Library provides information on intellectual property on this website.
• Failure to comply with regulations regarding personal data, sensitive data, and copyright could compromise the evaluation of your doctoral thesis.
• Use the tools to enhance your critical thinking, not to replace it.
• Remember that AI is just another tool and that what is valued is the content of your dissertation, your knowledge and the way in which you are able to present and defend it.

 NON-ACCEPTED USES OF GENERATIVE AI

• Structuring of content or organisation of information: you should demonstrate a sufficient level to be able to construct your own dissertation.
• Copywriting: at this point in your education, this is a skill that you should be able to demonstrate reliably. However, you should state whether you have used Generative AI to refine your writing after you have created it.
• In the specific contents, keep in mind that your assessment will focus on acquired skills and competences from the doctoral studies, so if you try to supplement them with these tools you will probably not pass the minimum grade. You must be able to demonstrate them in your dissertation.
• For that reason, you should declare any interaction with AI that could affect this point to clear up any doubts. For example, using AI to generate data that should be obtained experimentally is ethically unacceptable, but using AI to process it—as long as due caution is exercised regarding sensitive or confidential data—can accelerate your work. This efficiency should not be at odds with exemplary behavior in data processing, which should always be supervised and post-processed by you and your supervisors. A precise description of your use of AI in the data flow, far from diminishing your work, can demonstrate your competence in using AI in research.